CIDETEC takes part in the RECYSITE project: a new range of green composites

18/11/2016

The objective of RECYSITE is to produce fully recyclable and reusable green composites based on bioresins and natural fibres.

European strategic sectors (transportation and construction) require more sustainable materials and need to fulfil European regulation in terms of recyclability and end of life. In addition, the scraps generated during manufacturing will be recycled (30 % scraps). Actual materials used in both sectors are the largest consumers of composite materials (69%) and produce residues that in the best case are incinerated to recover the reinforcement material generating an environmental problem. Thus, the European governments, the industrial sectors and finally the end users demand a more sustainable, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. The RECYSITE consortium proposes a solution to this problem by the validation of new fully recyclable biocomposites obtained from natural resources in two different sectors in order not only to validate it but also to demonstrate the transferability of the results. Transportation (refrigerated swap body) and construction (modular façade wall) have been selected as they are two of the European sectors with more impact on the economy as they involve more than 15% of the jobs and GDP in Europe. This Life project gathers seven partners from four European different countries, coordinated by CENTEXBEL (the Belgian scientific and technical centre for the textile industry) in a project with a 2 million euros budget during 36 months of collaborative work. Other members of the consortium are: LAZELOISE (BE), AVANTIUM (NL), CNRS (FR), CIDETEC (ES), AITIIP (ES) and SISPRA (ES). The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and legislation by co-financing projects with European added value.